Athletic rise to fame

Three years ago Athlete were tipped as the next big thing, though the Deptford four-piece’s rise to music stardom has been more of a marathon than a sprint.

The band, who appear at The Fez Club on Wednesday, were labelled among other things as Britain’s answer to Pavement or the brand new Steely Dan.

They have been recipients of recent critical acclaim and mainstream success is surely now only just around the corner.

Formed at the start of 2000 by four friends who had known each other from the age of 14, Athlete were one of the most talked-about new bands and were tipped for chart stardom.

Their debut release, 2002’s Athlete EP, was trumpeted as a Jo Whiley record of the week and follow-up single You Got The Style was the band’s first foray into the top 40.

Support slots for Mansun and The Polyphonic Spree followed, along with the release of their third single, the brilliant Beautiful.

A stunning debut album, Vehicles And Animals, is due out on Parlophone in April and was produced by Victor Van Vugt, best known for his work with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey and Sparklehorse.